William Gilmore Simms’s ultimate ambition for his
collected poetical works titled Poems:
Descriptive, Dramatic, Legendary, and Contemplative was limited to
posterity. Unlike most of his literary
efforts, it was not a money-making operation.
He wrote his friend B.F. Perry in January 1852, “my hope &
expectation are not profit. I seek only to put myself fully on record
for the future.” Remarkably, Simms
went on to explain this bid for future acclaim: “I regard my career as pretty well over, and
wish now to revise and make myself as worthy as possible in the eyes ...